Brilliant Classics
have put together a winning formula
here. A DVD documentary film about Bach’s
life and music has been combined with
two CDs which gather together a representative
selection of his music.

To take the film first.
Although there is no booklet to give
accompanying details, the handsomely
produced enclosing box tells us that
‘this documentary film on Bach takes
a close look at his life, the places
where he worked, his works and the techniques
he used when composing, as well as at
the political and cultural life during
the composer’s time. Recorded at original
places, such as Leipzig, Köthen,
Arnstadt and Mühlhausen, this unique
film will give a detailed account of
the critical developments in Bach’s
life as well as of his many compositions’.
True enough, except that anyone who
has seen the splendid film about Bach
in the BBC’s Great Composers series
will immediately be aware that this
new entrant is not unique. Moreover
both films use many of the same ideas
and of course many of the same images
and venues. In fact the links go further,
since many of the same musicians, including
for example Sir John Eliot Gardiner,
feature strongly in both films.

That said, the BBC
film is slightly to be preferred since
it offers more insights into Bach’s
composing methods. Nevertheless this
‘new’ film from Brilliant Classics is
very well done. There is a good flow
of narrative and the images from Bach’s
life are clearly outlined and thoughtfully
chosen. No-one buying this package is
likely to be disappointed. Though anyone
who already owns the BBC version will
not find the newcomer offering new revelations.

The two accompanying
discs contain a pretty sound selection
for the purposes of capturing Bach’s
musical achievement. The weakness lies
in the field of organ music, presumably
because the available catalogue did
not offer so many choices. If that was
not the reason then musical eyebrows
need to be raised. As the sole representative
of Bach’s organ music the famous Toccata
and Fugue in D minor is not the best
choice. A prelude and fugue and a chorale
prelude would surely have been better.

The performances are
reliable enough, with an interesting
range of stylistic approaches, and all
of them seeming to be recent enough
to be aware of recent developments in
our awareness of baroque performance
priorities. Unfortunately there are
no details of either the recording locations
or dates.

The performances gather
a mixture of complete works and extracts,
the latter coming not only from extended
major works such as the St Matthew Passion
(two examples) but also from within
solo and chamber pieces. Thus there
are single movements from a flute sonata
and a violin partita, as well as the
final movement, the Badinerie, from
the Second Orchestral Suite, in which
the poor flautist does not receive a
credit.

These discs will give
pleasure and the sequence works satisfactorily
enough. But then Bach is the most indestructible
of composers.

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